Friday, March 25, 2011

Virtual Education

Are common questions such as virtual education is possible?, Can learn a science, art or craft by internet, is it true the title?

All these questions have something in common: their answer is clearly yes. But why?

Define education. According to the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia is "the process by which multi-transmit knowledge, values, customs and ways of acting."

In making this definition we find that the transmission of knowledge, values, customs, and ways of acting can be transmitted in a manner both classroom and virtual. Surely, then from this point of view, education can not only be one way.

Consider now the actors. In the classroom education is relying primarily on three parties: the teacher transmitting knowledge, the student who receives it and the transmission medium. These, too, are present in virtual education, but this is where the main differences begin to emerge is that in virtual environments can not speak of the traditional teacher and student.

In virtual education, the teacher's role should be reconsidered. The Northern Catholic University Foundation, the first virtual educational institution in Colombia, defines a teacher as a facilitator, as a companion of the process of the student, who in turn must transform the way they learn to become a research-oriented be and self-taught, who is accompanied by his guide (Facilitator) on the subject under study.

Similarly, differences in the means by which the student receives knowledge. Education classroom, the teacher interacts with students in vivo, by explaining a particular topic and then continuing with a series of questions to demonstrate understanding of a subject. Da instantly share very few students, while the virtuality is given the explanation but left the approaches to a longer time period, allowing the student to think much more about themselves and better prepare its response.

This gives the possibility to involve all students in a time period determinado.Es clear, then, that differences exist, but so is that both the face and virtual education are valid means for acquiring knowledge.